HAZARDS AND RISKS CONTROL OPTIONS MANAGING THE RISK

Roofing work is varied – covering structures with shingles, slate, asphalt and other materials; spraying roofs, sidings, and walls to bind, seal, insulate, or soundproof; demolishing or repairing asbestos cement roofs; cutting wooden battens; cleaning roofs and clearing out roof spaces. It can, therefore, involve exposure to many different harmful substances which might generate hazardous dusts, or give off toxic fumes and vapours. The biggest respiratory health risks come from asbestos and silica.

Asbestos*Roofers may come into contact with or disturb a number asbestos containing materials (ACMs) during maintenance work. Asbestos is classified as a category 1 carcinogen and causes around 5000 work-related deaths each year in the UK. Inhalation of asbestos fibres can cause mesothelioma, asbestos-related lung cancer, asbestosis, and pleural thickening - all fatal or serious and incurable diseases that take many years to manifest.

SilicaSilica occurs in many types of stone and in concrete, including roof tiles and slate. In dust form it will be released during cutting or grinding, and when sweeping/cleaning work areas. Inhaling fine silica dust (respirable crystalline silica or RCS) can lead to serious lung diseases, including fibrosis, silicosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and lung cancer. Over 500 construction workers die every year from exposure to silica dust.

Bitumen & asphaltBitumen (aka asphalt) is commonly used as an adhesive to bond membranes onto the deck or insulation board. Hot bitumen work can cause throat irritation from inhaling vapours.

Glues and solventsThere are a variety of roofing products that use or contain glues and solvents which, when breathed in as vapour, can irritate the lungs. Exposure can also affect co-ordination and so increase the likelihood of accidents. Very high exposures can cause unconsciousness and even death, for instance where adhesives are used in unventilated confined spaces.

Wood dustBreathing in wood dust can cause asthma, a serious, debilitating, life-limiting condition, as well as irritation, allergic rhinitis and, rarely, nasal cancer, as well as impaired lung function.

Biological hazardsBreathing in dust from dried bird droppings, often found in roof spaces, can cause psittacosis which in turn can lead to severe pneumonia.

B R E AT H E F R E E LYControlling Exposures to prevent occupational

lung disease in the construction industry

Elimination/prevention• Information on the presence of asbestos should come from the premises’ asbestos management plan and asbestos register. For information on non-licensed work tasks involving asbestos and how to safely carry them out, refer to HSE’s HSG210: Asbestos Essentials: www.hse.gov.uk/asbestos/essentials/index.htm [NNLW requires, in addition, for employers to notify the relevant enforcing authority (usually the HSE), designate areas where the work is being done, ensure medical examinations take place, and maintain health records.]• Eliminate tile cutting by using ½ or 1½ size tiles.

Safe working methods• Choose methods that avoid or limit cutting, grinding, drilling, chiselling or abrasion of silica/wood materials wherever practicable. • Set up a cutting area on surrounding scaffolding not on the roof itself; where practical apply this also to valleys.• Eliminate or minimise dust creation through wet working: damp down the work area beforehand, use water suppression for repair/demolition tasks, and damp down during debris removal and cleaning. Where tile resizing is needed, use water to stop the release of dust into the air (eg. modern cut-off saws have an attachment for a water hose).• Avoid high pressure spraying for dust and debris removal, as this can release dust into the air and make contaminated slurry difficult to contain.• Apply glues and solvents by brush, rather than spraying.• Use covered chutes and skips and, where needed, screen off areas to prevent dust spreading.• Safely and regularly dispose of asbestos waste from site.

PPEFor non-licensed asbestos work• Disposable overalls (type 5 (BS EN ISO 13982-1) are necessary. Waterproof overalls may be needed for outdoor work. Dispose of used overalls as asbestos waste.• Single-use disposable gloves should be worn. • Boots are preferable to disposable overshoes; never use laced boots as these are very difficult to clean properly. • Use respiratory protective equipment (RPE) with an Assigned Protection Factor (APF) of 20 or more; disposable RPE (eg FFP3), half mask RPE with P3 filter or semi-disposable RPE with P3 filter are suitable.For silica• Use either a FFP3 disposable dust mask or a half mask with P3 filters. Wearers must be face fit tested.All roofing work• RPE may also be appropriate in poorly ventilated areas such as roof spaces.

Training & communication, supervision, maintenance & testing of controls and air monitoring* are all vital aspects of managing the risk, in addition to health surveillance which can be a requirement in certain circumstances.

See our introductory Respiratory Health Hazards in Construction Fact Sheet Series: Overview for more information about what things to consider and implement.

Air monitoring*Air monitoring is a specialist activity. It may be needed as part of a COSHH assessment, as a periodic check on control effectiveness and to assess compliance with relevant WELs, or where there has been a failure in a control (for example if a worker reports respiratory symptoms). A qualified Occupational Hygienist can ensure it is carried out in a way that provides meaningful and helpful results.

Also, see HSE leaflet G409, Exposure measurement: Air sampling.www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/guidance/g409.pdf

Roofer

Construction Trades | Health Hazards | Fact Sheet

See reverse for Workplace Exposure Limits (WELs)

WORKPLACE EXPOSURE LIMITS (WELs) & EXPOSURE LEVELS

Agent or substance

B R E AT H E F R E E LYControlling Exposures to prevent occupational

lung disease in the construction industry

Roofer

Construction Trades | Health Hazards | Fact Sheet

Control/Exposure Limit Exposure Levels

The Chartered Society forWorker Health Protection

• Asbestos essentials: A task manual for building, maintenance and allied trades on how to safely carry out non-licensed work: www.hse.gov.uk/asbestos/essentials/index.htm• COSHH Essentials guidance sheet on how to control exposure to hazards in construction: www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/guidance/cnseries.htm• Silica dust: www.hse.gov.uk/construction/healthrisks/cancer-and-construction/silica-dust.htm

Further information

Asbestos (all types)* 0.1 fibres/ml (4 hr TWA)0.6 fibres/ml (10 min TWA)

The aim should be to avoid any exposure. Some non-licensed work and Notifiable Non-Li-censed Work (NNLW) with asbestos may be done by trained personnel. However, there is a very high risk from asbestos insulation board (in soffits and roof linings), sprayed asbestos (on structural roof members and applied as a coating to asbestos cement sheets) and asbestos pipe insulation in roof spaces; work on these materials as well as any at exposures above the control and short-term exposure limits, must be carried out by an HSE licensed contractor, for which there is a separate BOHS respiratory health hazards fact sheet, the ‘Licensed Asbestos Removal Worker’ fact sheet*.

Silica - RCS 0.1 mg/m3 (8 hr TWA). In addition, the European Scientific Committee for Occupational Exposure Limits (SCOEL) recommend that, to eliminate silicosis, European occupational exposure standards should be set below 0.05 mg/m3 (8 hr TWA).

Different materials contain different amounts of silica, so concrete tiles can comprise between 25-75%, and slate 30%. Even short periods of roof tile cutting can create high levels of silica dust.

Wood dust 5 mg/m3 (8 hr TWA) Applies to both hardwood and softwood.

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